How to improve livestock production, by expert

How can Nigeria improve livestock production? It is by increasing its seed stock, building larger capacity slaughterhouses and launching information systems for animal identification and traceability, an expert, Dr Ademola Adeyemo has said.

Adeyemo, Deputy Director, Directorate of General Administration, Agricultural and Rural Management Institute (ARMTI), stressed the need to increase the seed stock of commercial cattle which could be distributed to livestock farmers.

He explained that farmers were not making much because of the low proportion of pedigree animals, the low productivity of its commercial cattle, small number of dedicated feedlots, and the lack of technical regulations for livestock to meet world standards.

Cattle slaughter rate, he said, is increasing, but the number of standard slaughter houses are small to take care of increasing population.

According to him, existing slaughter houses should be made to operates under international health and safety standards.

He said operators should be encouraged to use modern technology, that could led to higher-value product for customers.

With increased demand for beef, he said the cattle population has declined as farmers are selling more beef than is required to maintain or grow the population.

He called on the government to create favourable conditions for farm business, where raising cattle on a farm would be more beneficial than selling them, “and to import cattle population from other countries to achieve an increase in seedstock in the country.”

Also, he said the nation could experience beef deficiency, as a result of the insecurity in the North, urging the government to raise to the challenge by creating the conditions necessary for the development of the cattle sector, which included low-cost feed production, high genetic potential and the availability of marketing outlets.

In terms of genetic potential,he said the sector needs to develop premium cattle, which is key to the competitiveness and profitability of the sector.